Republicans facing a tough midterm election season are pointing to the strong economy as proof their new tax law is working its magic.

But as campaign ads tout swelling payrolls and lawmakers spotlight companies handing out employee bonuses, there’s little evidence the tax cuts are already having an impact across the economy, which was already humming even before the law was enacted.

Unemployment, which dropped to 3.9 percent in April, has been declining for years, falling to 4.1 percent before the tax cuts were approved.

The billions in bonuses being handed out are tiny compared to the trillions of dollars in overall wages that Americans workers earn – and with the tight labor market, they might have been handed out anyway.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department hasn’t even finished writing the new rules spelling out how exactly the new law will work. And the pace of change in business investment and labor supply is typically very slow.

"It's just way too early to see any kind of evidence of faster growth, faster investment, more labor supply — any of that stuff," said Joel Prakken, chief economist at Macroeconomic Advisers by IHS Markit, a prominent economic forecasting firm. "Anybody who thought that, within a quarter or two, there would be a big uptick in growth is deluding themselves."

That hasn’t stopped the GOP from claiming credit. The economic dividends of the new law are central to their midterm plans, and they are anxious to talk up their biggest legislative accomplishment of the Trump administration.

In one Nebraska district, the Chamber of Commerce is running an ad backing Republican incumbent Don Bacon that says: “We’re adding jobs, and Nebraska businesses are giving bonuses again.” It warns that Democrats want to repeal the law’s tax cuts.

Republicans have been urging companies to forward them stories of the law helping their businesses, which they are eagerly sharing with voters. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta suggested earlier this month at a roundtable with business leaders in Cleveland the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has already generated 800,000 new jobs.

Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R--Texas), one of the plan’s architects, points to a marine construction company in his district he says is boosting pay, ordering a new barge and buying "the largest crane in Texas."

"We are just now four months into the new tax code — we're not just in the first inning, we're in the first batter of the first inning of tax reform, and already the results are very encouraging on investment, on wage growth, on dollars coming back from overseas," Brady said last week.

But in truth, economists say, it will be months, if not longer, before the effects begin to really show up in the economic data. And even then, many say, the evidence will be more ambiguous than lawmakers suggest.

That's because the economy was already strong before the law passed, so some of the good news would have happened even if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was never approved.

They also see the economy getting a boost from a completely separate and largely overlooked law Congress recently OK'd: A nearly $400 billion spending increase opposed by many Republicans that some experts say will do more for growth, at least in the short term, than the tax cuts.

That last line is the truth of the matter.
How are they going to try to improve the economy? Increased government spending which will raise the deficit...

__________________
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
~Abraham Lincoln

That last line is the truth of the matter.
How are they going to try to improve the economy? Increased government spending which will raise the deficit...

The OP is nothing but an opinion piece dressed up with so-called experts proclaiming any benefit from the tax cut would have happened anyway. Let's write off accelerated GDP growth, improved unemployment rates, the beginnings of wage growth after years of stagnation and record Federal government receipts, they would have happened anyway, trust us we are experts.

Using the same expert standard Obama didn't save us from the another Great Depression as his cult followers are fond of touting, the economy would have recovered anyway.

__________________
The Democrat's strategy for the Trump Presidency is the same one used by Stalin's secret police chief "show me the man and I will show you the crime."

Didn't help when America elected the self-proclaimed "king of debt", anyone who voted for him knew what he was all about.

After Obama's and the Democrats ran the national debt up to nearly $20 trillion it makes sense to elect someone who knows how to manage debt. After the Democrat led spending orgy where budget is a dirty word and anything less than a $ trillion deficit is portrayed as fiscal restraint suddenly they are all budget hawks.

__________________
The Democrat's strategy for the Trump Presidency is the same one used by Stalin's secret police chief "show me the man and I will show you the crime."

The OP is nothing but an opinion piece dressed up with so-called experts proclaiming any benefit from the tax cut would have happened anyway.

If that were really a reason to discount things, none of the threads around here would be addressed.
The reality is your response is a lame excuse to ignore what's being said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZRWinger

Let's write off accelerated GDP growth, improved unemployment rates, the beginnings of wage growth after years of stagnation and record Federal government receipts, they would have happened anyway, trust us we are experts.

Nobody is "writing off" anything.

What is being said is summed up in the headline: GOP tax cut not why economy is booming
And if somebody thinks about those eight words with any level of intelligence, they'll realize a couple things...
a) "economy is booming"
The headline blatantly states that so how can you claim people are "writing off" all those improvements when almost half of the headline is used to say "economy is booming"?

b) GOP tax cut not why...
While it admits the economy is booming, it explicitly notes one reason which cannot be claimed as a significant cause.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZRWinger

Using the same expert standard Obama didn't save us from the another Great Depression as his cult followers are fond of touting, the economy would have recovered anyway.

You failed to comprehend anything about the article, so it's no wonder you get this wrong too...

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZRWinger

After Obama's and the Democrats ran the national debt up to nearly $20 trillion it makes sense to elect someone who knows how to manage debt.

ROFLMAO!
First off, Trump's history on debt is not something you want to tout here.
Unless you're talking about the U.S. getting rid of debt via BANKRUPTCY, I don't think it's a realistic approach.

Secondly, the proof is going to be in the pudding regardless.
Expert after expert have noted that Trump is going to raise the deficit.
And even if you ignore all the experts, Trump will inevitably have the numbers out there for all to see.

Do you really think Trump is going to reduce the deficit???
Cause my experience has been that Republicans shy away from that question. Deep down, they know he is going to raise the deficit like the numerous Republican presidents before him.
I'm amused that you actually talk like he won't...

__________________
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
~Abraham Lincoln

That last line is the truth of the matter.
How are they going to try to improve the economy? Increased government spending which will raise the deficit...

"The economy"
funny

Used to mean the financial health of a greater part of citizens.
None of the so called booms in 30+ yrs have helped an most hurt the former working class even further.
Wages are pitiful. Yet meat and mortgages and rents are more costly. (not to mention gas going up)
Interest rates kept low all these years so mega institutions could get a better deal have harmed us all.

This tax cut is actually a fee increase and will force states to raise taxes.
Nobody but the few proud anti patriotic elite benefit.

__________________
Humans Less Than 1% of Life on Earth, But Have Destroyed Half of Its Plants, More Than 80% of All Mammals

If that were really a reason to discount things, none of the threads around here would be addressed.
The reality is your response is a lame excuse to ignore what's being said.

Nobody is "writing off" anything.

What is being said is summed up in the headline: GOP tax cut not why economy is booming
And if somebody thinks about those eight words with any level of intelligence, they'll realize a couple things...
a) "economy is booming"
The headline blatantly states that so how can you claim people are "writing off" all those improvements when almost half of the headline is used to say "economy is booming"?

b) GOP tax cut not why...
While it admits the economy is booming, it explicitly notes one reason which cannot be claimed as a significant cause.

You failed to comprehend anything about the article, so it's no wonder you get this wrong too...

ROFLMAO!
First off, Trump's history on debt is not something you want to tout here.
Unless you're talking about the U.S. getting rid of debt via BANKRUPTCY, I don't think it's a realistic approach.

Secondly, the proof is going to be in the pudding regardless.
Expert after expert have noted that Trump is going to raise the deficit.
And even if you ignore all the experts, Trump will inevitably have the numbers out there for all to see.

Do you really think Trump is going to reduce the deficit???
Cause my experience has been that Republicans shy away from that question. Deep down, they know he is going to raise the deficit like the numerous Republican presidents before him.
I'm amused that you actually talk like he won't...

Failing or more likely refusing to admit the article is built around the false assumption the economy would have improved anyway, without the tax cuts is truly puerile. There is no disputing what the article claims but instead of examining the incredibly stupid claim underpinning the article out come the insults. The failure to offer rational discussion on your part simply exposes the blind hatred and fear of the Resistance.

__________________
The Democrat's strategy for the Trump Presidency is the same one used by Stalin's secret police chief "show me the man and I will show you the crime."

But even worse, your responses indicate either a level of dishonesty or intellectual laziness in refusing to read the article.

They also see the economy getting a boost from a completely separate and largely overlooked law Congress recently OK'd: A nearly $400 billion spending increase opposed by many Republicans that some experts say will do more for growth, at least in the short term, than the tax cuts.

The Repubs are at it again with raising the deficit. And the increased government spending is a real gas pedal for the economy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZRWinger

There is no disputing what the article claims but instead of examining the incredibly stupid claim underpinning the article out come the insults. The failure to offer rational discussion on your part simply exposes the blind hatred and fear of the Resistance.

Your commentary offers absolutely nothing substantial to talk about other than whining.

__________________
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
~Abraham Lincoln

If that were really a reason to discount things, none of the threads around here would be addressed.
The reality is your response is a lame excuse to ignore what's being said.

Nobody is "writing off" anything.

What is being said is summed up in the headline: GOP tax cut not why economy is booming
And if somebody thinks about those eight words with any level of intelligence, they'll realize a couple things...
a) "economy is booming"
The headline blatantly states that so how can you claim people are "writing off" all those improvements when almost half of the headline is used to say "economy is booming"?

b) GOP tax cut not why...
While it admits the economy is booming, it explicitly notes one reason which cannot be claimed as a significant cause.

You failed to comprehend anything about the article, so it's no wonder you get this wrong too...

ROFLMAO!
First off, Trump's history on debt is not something you want to tout here.
Unless you're talking about the U.S. getting rid of debt via BANKRUPTCY, I don't think it's a realistic approach.

Secondly, the proof is going to be in the pudding regardless.
Expert after expert have noted that Trump is going to raise the deficit.
And even if you ignore all the experts, Trump will inevitably have the numbers out there for all to see.

Do you really think Trump is going to reduce the deficit???Cause my experience has been that Republicans shy away from that question. Deep down, they know he is going to raise the deficit like the numerous Republican presidents before him.
I'm amused that you actually talk like he won't...

Yes, you are right, the deficit probably will continue to climb.

But how can you say Republicans shy away from it? We all know that the second a Republican says something like "Next year instead of increasing this or that 10% we are only going to increase it 9%" The very next second Dems and the MSM are screaming "Draconian cuts, Draconian cuts!" "people will suffer and die" This happens every...single...solitary....time.